Not A Warrior
by Silent J. Knight
Summary: In the world of Remnant, there are thousands of young men and women yearning to become Hunters and Huntresses. But what about the few who have no interest in combat, but are forced to be spectators in a harsh and violent environment? Join Gio, a simple teenage baker in Vale, who is suddenly thrust into the world of Hunters and Huntresses, gaining a few friends along the way.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The City of Vale, bustling with commerce and culture, was the largest city in Vytal. On the outskirts of the city, Beacon Academy stood, training and sculpting the next Generations of Hunters and Huntresses. These warriors were training to become the Protectors of Remnant, sworn to defend the defenseless against the horrible creatures called Grimm. These creatures knew nothing except kill, destroy, and terminate, making them the biggest threat to humanity.

With all of these terrible creatures roaming Remnant, it's no doubt that thousands of young and upstart warriors would apply to different combat schools, wanting to learn how to defend themselves and their loved ones. Well… Gio wasn't one of those people.

Aging at 13 years old, Gio lived and worked in the City of Vale as a baker. Of course, most of his friends ridiculed him for his job, chastising him for not pursuing the life of combat that they were chasing after.

"Gio! You are coming with me right now to apply at Signal!" His friend Shisu yelled, leaping over the counter Gio was behind, pulling on his arm. "We aren't just going to leave you here!"

Gio ripped his arm away, rotating his shoulder. "No! I've already told you, I can't just leave my family here. Besides, I don't see how me joining Signal is going to create a big difference." Gio explained, putting his foot down. He was a brown haired boy, his hair tied back in a ponytail, and was wearing a green long-sleeved shirt and black pants, along with an apron around his neck.

"Ok, I get that your mom is sick and everything, but what about your Dad? He can take care of her while you're with us over at Signal!" Shisu tried to coax, but Gio had none of it.

"I'm not gonna ask him to stop working just so I can go with you guys to Signal. Besides, the tuition is freaking insane! And I don't have any previous combat experience to get a scholarship. It sounds really cool, but I'm just saying I don't really have an interest in learning how to fight."

It seemed that Shisu sighed and bit and walked back onto the other side of the counter, leaning his elbows against it. "So nothing I say will convince you to at least try?"

"I'm sorry man. Besides, how would I be able to design something as cool as those?" Gio said, gesturing to Shisu's weapons. They looked as if they were just circular rings of metal on each sides of his hip, but when in use, they were Razor Sharp throwing discs, each connected to Razor wire threads.

Shisu grinned at the compliment, taking the right disc off of his hip and holding it. "Heh, the Ringleaders are pretty cool aren't they? I was getting crap from Marcos because they didn't have any guns attached, but Dust is more than enough for these bad boys."

Gio smiled at his friend who was admiring his weapons, before clearing his throat and pulling out a notepad. "Well, while you're here, want anything? On the house for your acceptance into Signal."

Shisu grinned and licked his lips. "Oh heck yes, get me 3 of those Mini Apple Fritters, and 2 slices of Lemon Cake." He ordered, Gio slipping on some gloves and reaching for his desired order underneath the counter.

This was the life that Gio preferred over one of combat and monster hunting. Of course it might not have been as glamorous as being a Hunter, it was what he loved doing. Seeing people walk into the bakery, ordering their favorite snacks and leaving with smiles on their faces was one of the best feelings every. But the best feeling was, in his opinion, was watching someone with a frown on their face walk in, and instantly have a grin appear on their faces.

Shisu took one of the Lemon cakes and took a bite, moaning in delight at the taste. "Man, if only you did come with us. You would be the most popular kid in a few days with stuff like these." Shisu complemented. He was a 14 year old boy, his grey hair buzzed down to nearly nothing. He wore a blue shirt over a black long-sleeve, along with black pants, his Ringleaders attached by specially designed holsters on his waist.

Taking the bags filled with snacks, Shisu started towards the exit. "Bye Gio! See you in a few weeks, wish me luck!" Shisu called over his shoulder, waving goodbye to the baker.

Gio waved back as he walked out of the door, leaving the boy alone in the bakery. He smiled and sighed, taking off the apron around his neck and putting up a little 'Be back in 5' sign onto the counter. He went to the back of the bakery and opened a door to a staircase, heading upstairs to the small apartment him and his family lived in.

"Mom? Do you need anything?" He asked, walking into his mother's room. Her skin was pale and she had sweat beading her brow, but she still wore and smile and shook her head no.

"Not right now honey, I'm just a bit warm." She said, wiping her forehead with a damp cloth on her nightstand. She swept her black hair away from her face, giving her son a smile. Her name was Shinda, and she had been sick for over a month now.

Gio constantly worried about his mother, who had gone to some of the best doctors in Vale with no explanation of her illness. He picked up the slack downstairs in the Bakery while his father worked in construction to pay off her medical expenses, but knew that when she pulled through it would all be worth it.

"Here, let me turn this up." Gio said, going to the fan pointing at her and setting it to the highest level. As he did this, he heard the bell on his counter downstairs be rung twice, his eyes widening. "Oh! I'll be right back Ma."

He quickly gave his mother a kiss on her forehead before heading back downstairs, pulling his apron off of the hook on the wall and putting it around his neck. "Welcome to Remnant Remedies, can I take your order?" Gio said, reciting the standard welcome for any new customers.

Gio didn't recognize this girl, who had red headphones around her neck. She had a long red cape billowing down her shoulders, and by what Gio could see, she had a hood on the back as well.

"I was wondering if anybody was here, I saw that the sign said open but didn't see anyone in here." The girl said, eyeballing the many sweets behind the class counter. "I'll take a dozen of those chocolate chip cookies!" She asked, her eyes nearly bulging out of her head.

Gio chuckled a bit and went to pull the cookies from the counter, quickly adding up the cost in his head. "That'll be 4 Lien." He said, putting the cookies into a small bag and handing them over to the girl. She pulled out her Credits Card and tapped it onto the payment pad on the other side of the cash register, transferring the funds from her account to the Bakery account.

Gio's eyes widened at the card, knowing that only two kinds of people were allowed to have those cards. Adults, and Academy students.

"Umm, can I ask you something?" Gio asked, pointing to the card. "Are you an Academy student?"

The girl smiled bashfully and nodded her head, putting the bag of cookies into a satchel around her shoulders. "Well, yeah sorta. I just got accepted into Signal… My Uncle managed to reserve me a spot on the enrollment list. 4 more years then I'll be ready to apply for Beacon." She explained, a large smile on her face.

She took the time to actually pull one of the cookies out of her satchel and take a bite, her face lighting up and eyes widening. "Wow! These are awesome! Did you bake these?" She asked, Gio shrugging his shoulders in response.

"Well yeah. It's my mother recipe though."

"I have got to come back during our breaks and get more of these! What's your name?" She asked, not seeing a name tag.

"Gio. Yours?"

The girl gave smile, "My name's Ruby. Nice to meet you Gio." She introduced, holding out her hand for a shake. The baker reciprocated the handshake, a wide grin on his face. After that, Ruby walked out the door, her cape cascading behind her. Gio couldn't help but notice that she didn't have a weapon visible, but he guessed that she probably had it hidden under that massive cape.

He couldn't help but think about her when she finally disappeared from his line of sight.

"I wouldn't mind seeing her again sometime."

**A/N I'm new to the RWBY fanfiction scene, so I'm testing the waters with this fic. I've seen a lot of stories involving Hunters and Huntresses suddenly becoming the most powerful warriors in the world, but I began to think, 'What about civilians and stuff?'. So this fic is more of an experiment. Give a review to tell me what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The sun fell past the horizon, finally allowing Gio to flip the 'Open' sign to 'Closed'. Of course he still had to make more pastries for the next day, but he decided to hold those off until he made dinner. He climbed back up the staircase, moving a bit sluggishly and rubbing his eyes. His father would be home in about an hour, giving him more than enough time to cook.

"Anything in particular you want to eat Mom? I could make those Pork Cutlets you like again." Gio offered, but noticed that she was already fast asleep in bed. He smiled and walked over to her, putting a hand onto her head to check if she was burning up worse than usual. He left a water bottle next to her bed for when she woke up, before getting started on dinner.

While he was cooking, his mind wandered back to Signal Academy. He never really paid it any mind, but a lot of Huntsmen and Huntresses in training came into his shop to celebrate their acceptance. Proud parents came in to order cakes for their children's accomplishment, happy groups of friends would come in to have a meal to mark the date, and some like Ruby simply just wanted one last taste of sweets before the harsh dietary plan necessary for a Hunter was put into place.

As Gio thought about it, he actually became saddened at the fact that most of his friends were leaving. Shisu and Marcos were his best friends, and now they were going to board an Airship over to Signal and not be able to leave until Winter Break.

"Maybe I should give them a call before they leave tomorrow." Gio said aloud, seeing his phone on the kitchen counter. As he went to reach for it, he heard footsteps coming up the stairs, recognizing them as Yokan's, his father. He worked as a Security Officer for Dust Construction, helping to protect crews working near Grimm infested areas. It was dangerous work, and despite the good pay it was barely enough to pay for private doctors and specialized medicine.

The lock on the door unlocked, and a few moments later Yokan came through the door, a blank stare decorating his face. He was dressed with standard Black Armor, his helmet underneath his right arm. Gio was about to greet him, but was stopped when Yokan just walked by him, moving to the small living room. He sat onto a small couch, dropping his helmet onto the floor with an unceremonious thud. He put his elbows onto his knees and head into his hands, slumping forward a bit.

Gio stood there for a moment, watching his father sit there in what looked like worry. "Dad? Is… is everything alright?" Gio asked carefully, walking towards Yokan slowly. His first clue was that his Dad always took off his boots when he got home, putting them next to the door. They were still tied to his feet tightly as ever.

"Go… go get your mother for me please… I need to talk to her…" Yokan whispered, still not picking up his head from his hands.

"She… she fell asleep. Is there something-"

"I SAID GO GET YOU MOTHER!"

The shout managed to send Gio flinching back, frightened at the sudden anger. He stared for a few moments, until Yokan spoke up once again. "Go… Go get your mother now…" He whispered, nearly growling. Not wanting to see what would happen if he didn't, Gio slowly walked backwards towards his parent's room.

He opened the door to find his mother still sound asleep, and looked back towards his father. "We shouldn't wake her… she needs to rest. The fevers been worse than usual…"

"She has plenty of time to rest. I need to talk to her right now." Yokan demanded, taking out the 10mm Pistol he had strapped to his waist, pulling out the magazine, and placing the weapon on the coffee table. It didn't scare Gio, because that's where he did his weapon maintenance every evening.

Without saying another word, Gio slowly crept up towards his sleeping mother, not wanting to wake her until he absolutely had to. He got to her side and sighed. "Mom, Dad's home and he wants to see you…" Gio said softly, shaking her shoulder a bit. He could see her eyes shift a bit underneath her eyelids, but it wasn't enough. "Mom... wake up."

He shook her this time a bit more forcefully, causing her eyes to flutter open slowly. "mmh… mmh… wha?" Shinda groaned, seeing her son standing over her. "Gio…? Wha… What is it?" She asked groggily, rubbing her eyes a bit.

"Dad's home… he… seems a bit angry right now. He told me to wake you up so you could talk." Gio explained, stepping back. "I'm done cooking dinner by the way if you're hungry."

Shinda didn't respond to Gio, instead walking past him and walking into the living room where Yokan was seated. When Gio walked out of his mother's room, he immediately went to grab his phone and went straight to his room, not wanting to hear why his father was acting like this. He couldn't do anything about it, so he decided to just lay low.

He took a look around his room, not really caring that it was small. He had a few posters taped to his walls, most of them being T.V. actors. 'Tales of The Lost Grimm' was one of Gio's favorite shows, where a boy and sentient Beowolf tried to escape from Hunters trying to capture them.

"Might as well give Marcos a call…" Gio sighed, hearing muffled chatter behind his bedroom door. He flipped open his phone and pressed his contacts button, clicking the arrow buttons until he got to Marco's name. Thanks to his mother's medical expenses, they had to downgrade their phones, meaning Gio had to give up his Civilian Class Scroll for his old flip one. Still, he could call and text, which was all he needed.

He call Marcos, bringing the end of his ponytail in front of him and playing with the end. After a few rings, a very annoyed voice answered.

"What in Dust's name is the problem!? I'm a little busy packing!" Marcos yelled from the other end, making Gio wince and pull the phone away.

"Calm down Marc, I just wanted to call to give you a goodbye for tomorrow morning! You and Shisu are leaving for Signal, and I know that they don't allow phones over there." Gio chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "So, you're packing your clothes huh?"

"Not really! I'm taking apart Doblegarra and putting her away! Can't have weapons in Signal unless you submit them for an examination. Usually students are supposed to make their weapons at Signal, but me and Shisu already got ours from our parents."

Doblegarra was Marcos' father's once, the dual wielding Claw Gauntlets being passed down generation to generation. Of course, the real treat were the pistols hidden inside, allowing for the wielder to make precision shots while absolutely tearing their opponent apart.

"Why didn't you stop by the shop today with Shisu? He said he tried to get you to come." Gio asked, sitting on the edge of his bed.

"And screw up my diet now?! Never! I know for a fact Shisu stuffed his face before leaving that Bakery!" Marcos proclaimed, which was followed by a yelp and a tumbling sound. "I'm ok!"

Gio laughed, "Alright, I'll see you whenever you get a break right?"

"Probably, it's gonna be hard to tell when that is though, you never know when something might-"

"GIO! GET OUT HERE QUICK!" Yokan yelled from the living room, startling the boy in question.

"What the heck was that?" Marcos asked, hearing the loud yell.

"I don't know, I gotta go!" Gio yelled, throwing his phone to his bed and bursting through his door. Shinda was on the ground, bleeding heavily from every orifice on her face. Blood was pouring onto the wooden floor, causing Gio to freeze in terror.

His mouth and eyes were widened in shock, staring in horror at the state Shinda was in.

"DON'T JUST STAND THERE! CALL AN AMBULANCE!" Yokan yelled, feeling for a pulse on his wife.

Gio couldn't hear what his dad just yelled. His ears were buzzing and his feet refused to move. His hands were shaky and his knees were starting to fail him. All he could sense at that point was the strong stench of his mother's blood on the ground, the metallic scent causing his stomach to do flips inside of him.

Without another word, Gio collapsed onto the ground in shock, his world blackening.


End file.
